Friday, March 4, 2011

Toy Soldiers from Xbox Live Arcade

This game, Toy Soldiers, has been getting some pretty good reviews, so I downloaded the free demo through Xbox Live and gave it a shot. The basic premise is that you control either the Germans or the British in a fantastical WWI setting, and you have to use your various units of toy soldiers to stop the other army from getting into your toy box... you can control Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, bi-plans and tri-planes, tanks of various types, and sniper towers just a name a few. At one point, I was spraying mustard gas into the charging troops trying to slow them down.

As the player, it's your job to set up your defenses in good places to mow down the charging enemy, and you can also take full control of each particular unit to lay down the fire just how you want it. The coolest is flying the plane, though I never did quite get the hang of it.

The graphics are really good, and the controls are basic and intuitive. The artwork that goes along with the game, as seen at the top of this post and on their webpage, is simply gorgeous. They have some propaganda posters and toy soldier boxtops that are really well done. Makes me wish they'd actually release some figures!

Again, I just played the demo, so I don't have the full experience, but just the fact that it's called "Toy Soldiers" is good enough for me! The full game is $10, and there are a ton of add-ons. I'll play the demo a few more times before I decide whether I'll purchase the full game.